It looks like one of the most legendary streaks in the history of Holland Middle School in Powell, OH, has finally come to an end: The sixth-grader who wore the same Green Day shirt from Kohl’s for the first 18 days of school has now started to wear other clothes.
Damn. It was a hell of a run, kid.
When Logan Watkins arrived on the first day of school proudly sporting a brand-new Green Day T-shirt that his mom had bought him, there was no indication that he was laying the groundwork for something big. But when the 11-year-old stepped off the bus the next morning wearing the exact same shirt, and then again the day after that, hype around the streak steadily began to build, and Logan was only getting started. When all was said and done, Logan would don the American Idiot shirt for the first 18 days of school straight, taking the Kohl’s clearance-rack garment on an incredible, damn-near three-week tour that, amazingly, continued nonstop until this morning, when he strolled into first period wearing a faded Cleveland Cavaliers jersey tee instead of the famous Green Day shirt that’d become his trademark.
Wow. It truly is the end of an era.
The fact that the streak endured a full 18 days is nothing short of remarkable, as there were countless times along the way when the feat seemed doomed. Yet Logan always persevered. When Taylor Burke yanked on the neck of the shirt and stretched the shit out of it during a game of recess flag football on day eight, it seemed all but inevitable that Logan would need to change into a different shirt, but he nonetheless persevered. He persevered after spilling an ass-load of Thousand Island dressing on the shirt on day 10, and he persevered through the humiliation of Talia Clester straight-up telling him he smelled like shit on day 13. Incredibly, he even persevered despite Mr. Rafferty’s explicit orders for him to wear a collared shirt for his big social studies presentation on day 15, courageously defying authority in service of a greater cause. Against all odds, he persevered in wearing that Green Day shirt for 18 consecutive days, and while it didn’t seem to win the respect of his peers or benefit him in any perceivable way, the fact that he kept the streak alive for so long is beyond extraordinary.
While it’s true that the streak has come to an end, there’s no doubt that the memory of Logan’s 18-day feat will live on at Holland Middle School long after he graduates on to high school. Here’s hoping that Logan brings back the Green Day shirt as soon as his mom washes it so that everyone can once again relive the magic of those glorious 18 days.
